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Obstruction Convictions Uncover Recordings of LA Sheriff's Dept. Officers Threatening FBI Agents And Federal Witnesses

from the more-of-a-criminal-enterprise-than-a-law-enforcement-agency dept

Tue, Oct 21st 2014 8:54pm — Tim Cushing

Above the law? The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department seems to feel it is. Or, at least, it felt that way right up until seven of its members were convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. The convictions -- with sentences of 21-41 months -- are being appealed, but the evidence collected by ABC 7 of Los Angeles paints a very disturbing picture of a law enforcement agency that would stop at nearly nothing to keep the feds from cramping its corrupt, brutalizing "style." Almost everything obtained either originated at the hands of those convicted or was preserved via video and audio recordings

It stems from the nasty little side business the Los Angeles Sheriff's Dept. runs: the county jails. Part of the problem was the LASD's hiring standards: there weren't any. Criminals, sex offenders, officers with severe misconduct on their records -- all were hired by the LASD. 200 officers who were rejected by other law enforcement agencies because of past problems found a welcoming home at the L.A. county jails.

The undersheriff in charge of screening applicants blamed the extra duties dropped on the LASD by the disbanding of the Dept. of Public Safety. Then he simply said he didn't remember any specifics and refused to answer any more questions. Finally, he and the rest of the LASD did everything they could to prevent this news from going public.

Beyond the misconduct-friendly screening process was the incredible amount of abuse occurring within the jails themselves. The ACLU filed suit on behalf of two LASD deputies, alleging routine abuse of inmates, claiming sheriff's deputies (themselves known to be members of a racist gang) turned over control of the jails to white supremacist factions and, perhaps most shockingly, hid an FBI informant from his handlers.

For more than two years, LASD officers worked together to "keep the FBI" out of its jails. In addition to threatening whistleblowing officers, LASD personnel also worked in concert to intimidate federal investigators.

By late September 2011, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department "Special Operations Group" had FBI Agent Leah Marx under surveillance for more than two weeks. Her partner, FBI Agent David Lam, was under surveillance as well…

On September 26, 2011 Sgt. Scott Craig and Sgt. Maricela Long confronted FBI Special Agent Leah Marx outside her home; they flash[ed] their LASD badges at Marx and then threaten[ed] her with arrest.

These two LASD officers didn't have the power to arrest the FBI agent. They also didn't have even the slightest legal basis for the charges they threatened her with. Supposedly, the LASD was going to take the FBI agent down for smuggling a phone into its jail (to Anthony Brown, the FBI informant who was hidden from the FBI by the LASD), even though Sheriff Baca himself had been informed of this by the head of the FBI's Los Angeles field office.

The recordings obtained by ABC 7 contain even more indications that these LASD officers believed themselves untouchable. One recording catches them laughing over a panicky phone call from FBI Agent Marx's supervisor concerning the threatened arrest. Another recording captures Lt. Steve Leavins performing a bit of tampering, hoping to turn an FBI witness into a friendly LASD voice. Further recordings capture several of the convicted officers trying to convince FBI informant Anthony Brown to give up details on the FBI's investigation.

Judge Percy Anderson, who handed out the sentences, addressed both the audacity of the LASD's actions...

"Perhaps it's a symptom of the corrupt culture within the Sheriff's Department, but one of the most striking things aside from the brazenness of threatening to arrest an FBI agent for a crime of simply doing her job and videotaping yourself doing it, is that none of you have shown even the slightest remorse."

as well as his hopes for the future:

The court hopes that if and when other deputies are faced with decisions similar to those you face, they will remember what happened here today. They will not look the other way or obstruct an investigation; that they will recognize that blind obedience to a corrupt culture has serious consequences, that they will enforce the law rather than conspire to commit crimes, that they will do what is right rather than what is easy.

When a culture of corruption runs as deep as LASD's apparently does, it will take a whole lot more than a few 2-4 year sentences to effect a turnaround. An agency of that size doesn't go from feeling so far above the law that it casually threatens federal agents to walking the straight-and-narrow -- at least, not because of a few convictions. It helps, but it's not nearly as transformative as Judge Anderson hopes. A few years of federal supervision will help as well, but the most hopeful sign is the new attitude being displayed by the LASD's Chief of Detectives, the person tasked with heading up internal investigations. Rather than shift the blame to software, policies or the public's perceptions, he takes responsibility for the unaddressed problems within the department.

The sheriff's department has an early warning system. "Our diagnostic systems were fine," said the department's Chief of Detectives, Bill McSweeney, who advised his agency on creation of the warning system. "Our managerial and supervision response was not fine. It's that simple."

The LASD is far from fixed. But at least some of its uglier characteristics have been dragged out of the darkness and publicly displayed.

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Filed Under: fbi, federal witnesses, la, lasd, los angeles, los angeles sheriff's department

29 Comments

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That One Guy (profile), 21 Oct 2014 @ 7:04pm

Question:
Why is anyone from the agency still employed? If they were so corrupt that they felt they could get away with threatening FBI agents, then it sounds like their bosses and everyone in the chain of management were either involved, heavily, or intentionally turning a blind eye to the abuses. You don't do something that ballsy without being damn sure your boss will cover for you.

Gut the agency, fire everyone employed there, file charges where appropriate, and start from scratch. That would send the proper message. Throwing a few patsies in jail for a year or so just sends the message of 'Don't get caught next time'.
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David, 21 Oct 2014 @ 10:03pm

Re: Question:
Can we have that for the NSA, please?
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toyotabedzrock (profile), 21 Oct 2014 @ 10:22pm

Did they use a stingray against the FBI?
And why does it seem that the FBI only noticed after the ACLU lawsuit?
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Oct 2014 @ 10:30pm

So all it takes...
for corrupt and criminal behavior to get punished within law enforcement, is to threaten someone higher up the food chain.
But what about when those highest in the chain does it? They have to threaten the president for something to happen?
It sure doesn't bode well for mr. and mrs. public when all they can hope for is that the officer who violated the law against them, some day does it against an undercover agent in order for that officer to get punished for his/her illegal actions.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Oct 2014 @ 10:32pm

Michael Dorn
Makes some of what he claimed seem far more likely now doesn't it.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Oct 2014 @ 10:32pm

And people wonder why there are some out there with grudges against the police
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Oct 2014 @ 10:38pm

Re: Michael Dorn
Um... Christopher Dorner, I think you mean.

Don't get me wrong: Michael Dorn is awesome. And I'm a big fan of Worf. I'm watching DS9 right now in fact. But...
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Oct 2014 @ 11:00pm

Lack of morals everywhere
This is what you get when most of the leadership in all of our various institutions have the morals of a shark. Its the real "trickle down" in action.
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any moose cow word, 21 Oct 2014 @ 11:25pm

Perhaps they need a sassy Georgia cop to get them in line.
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any moose cow word, 21 Oct 2014 @ 11:27pm

Re:
Well, that's how it worked on TV anyway.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2014 @ 12:28am

Again and again there is ample evidence of why the citizens of this country don't trust the police. I am still amazed at the audacity of that Deputy Matt's blaming the public for not trusting the cops.

It seems every week or so we get a dose of these fine examples of why the public shouldn't trust the cops.
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WysiWyg (profile), 22 Oct 2014 @ 12:33am

Hang on, the FBI just busted actual bad people? And LEOs at that!?

Where do I send the flowers? Or should I double-check my water for hallucinogens first?
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WysiWyg (profile), 22 Oct 2014 @ 12:34am

Re: So all it takes...
This isn't a problem if only the politicians would remember that WE are THEIR bosses.

So yeah, we're screwed.
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Ninja (profile), 22 Oct 2014 @ 2:21am

To think LASD is but one example. Most cops, FBI included, seem to believe they are above the law. We must not forget the warrantless activities (mass surveillance for instance) that even the FBI is engaged into. LASD had the FBI to rein it in. Who will do it for the FBI?
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2014 @ 3:09am

Don't they watch Hollywood movies?
I don't know how it is in real life (being from a distant country and all that), but one thing I learned from Hollywood movies, is that you don't threaten FBI agents. If you do, they'll get you by the end of the movie.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2014 @ 4:24am

Re: Question: clean slate
"Gut the agency, fire everyone employed there, file charges where appropriate, and start from scratch. That would send the proper message."

Georgia (the nation-state, not the the province-state) actually did just that a few years ago -- the country's entire police force was fired and replaced. And the new one has reportedly worked out well.

So yes, it could indeed be done.
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Michael, 22 Oct 2014 @ 6:28am

See FBI? Now that you are using these new fangled "recordings" as evidence, it's working out pretty well isn't it?
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Unanimous Cow Herd, 22 Oct 2014 @ 7:19am

True
"that they will recognize that blind obedience to a corrupt culture has serious consequences"

All of us should realize this.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2014 @ 7:21am

"Perhaps it's a symptom of the corrupt culture within the Sheriff's Department, but one of the most striking things aside from the brazenness of threatening to arrest an FBI agent for a crime of simply doing her job and videotaping yourself doing it, is that none of you have shown even the slightest remorse."

It had to be an FBI agent (I'm glad something happened) But I wonder how many Citizen complaints fell on deaf ears due to them not having the benefit of the doubt and instant trust that LEO's do.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2014 @ 7:38am

duplicate categories
There are two separate Techdirt categories that duplicate the same thing:

https://www.techdirt.com/blog/?tag=la+sheriffs+department

https://www.techdirt.com/blog/?tag=lo s+angeles+sheriff%27s+department
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Anonymous Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2014 @ 7:56am

Re: Don't they watch Hollywood movies?
We haven't even gotten to the climax of this movie, let alone the end!
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PRMan, 22 Oct 2014 @ 10:35am

Re: Michael Dorn
I felt bad for the guy. They ruined his life (and all further job chances) because he stood up for an abused cripple.

The way he went about it was wrong for sure, but they didn't leave him with any options.
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AnonyBabs, 22 Oct 2014 @ 11:40am

Re: Re:
Actually, it didn't. DC Johnson had no problem "bending" the rules to suit her purposes. She engineered the murder of a perp she couldn't pin and made sure the rest of the squad covered her ass. Shows like that (which I admit I watched and often enjoyed) make it seem okay because the guy probably was a criminal. The audience is supposed to excuse such behavior because she's otherwise "such a nice lady" and just interested in "justice."
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2014 @ 2:09pm

IQ Tests Back to bite them
Clearly setting a maximum IQ has screwed the LAPD over. Since anyone with a body temperature IQ knows that threatening FBI investigators is counterproductive.
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Reality bites, 22 Oct 2014 @ 2:22pm

the rot starts at the bottom and gets worse the higher it goes.
There isn't even one person employed by the LAPD that shouldn't be on trial for their life.

Psychopaths protecting psychopaths.... sounds like the feral pigs.
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Reality bites, 22 Oct 2014 @ 2:24pm

Never happen, psycho's always protect fellow psycho's
The rot starts at the top most post.
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John Fenderson (profile), 22 Oct 2014 @ 5:00pm

Higher standard
Criminals, sex offenders, officers with severe misconduct on their records -- all were hired by the LASD.

Isn't it interesting to know that the LASD will hire people who would be ineligible to even be a janitor in many places. We grant cops power over others that nobody else has, including the power to kill or imprison. It's good to know that these people are being held to the higher standard that such a position would require.
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Ninja (profile), 23 Oct 2014 @ 5:56am

Re: Question:
I wonder if it was the Kingdom of Georgia but the Police force was so problematic and corrupt that they fired the entirety of it and replaced them anew. Surprisingly things didn't go chaotic in the few days with no law enforcement and today the cops are actually respected. Sure we are talking about a small country here but then again maybe it can be done county by county.
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Johnny, 26 Oct 2020 @ 9:04pm

Re: Question:
It is the same everywhere, some a little less but there is no such thing as a good cop or bad cop, they all have opportunity anytime that they please to violate peoples right and the law.
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